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10 Things to Know: This Week's Takeaways

By The Associated Press

Updated:
03/22/2014 12:17:02 AM EDT

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Russian President Vladimir Putin signs bills making Crimea part of Russia in the Kremlin in Moscow, Friday, March 21, 2014. President Vladimir Putin completed the annexation of Crimea on Friday, signing the peninsula into Russia at nearly the same time his Ukrainian counterpart sealed a deal pulling his country closer into Europe's orbit. At left is Upper House Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, at right back is Lower House Speaker Sergei Naryshkin.

1. PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN COMPLETES ANNEXATION OF CRIMEA INTO RUSSIA

He signed the legislation Friday that reclaimed the region from Ukraine despite sanctions imposed on the Russian leader's inner circle by the West. EU leaders also sought to pull the rest of cash-strapped Ukraine westward by signing a political association agreement with Kiev's prime minister. Besieged Ukrainian troops on the Crimean Peninsula faced a choice: leave, join the Russian military or demobilize.

2. MYSTERY OF MISSING MALAYSIA AIRLINES JET NOW TWO WEEKS OLD

The overall search for the lost Boeing 777 with 239 people aboard stretches from Kazakhstan in Central Asia to the southern Indian Ocean. Two days of searching in the ocean off the west coast of Australia—prompted by a reading of satellite imagery from earlier this week—has turned up nothing.

3. U.S. ARMY GENERAL SPARED PRISON IN SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CASE

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair was originally brought up on sexual assault charges punishable by life in prison. But prosecutors dropped those charges in a deal in which he pleaded guilty to committing adultery with one woman and conducting inappropriate relationships with two others. Sinclair was reprimanded and fined $20,000 Thursday.

4. TALIBAN KILL 9 IN LUXURY HOTEL IN AFGHANISTAN'S CAPITAL OF KABUL

Among the dead from Thursday night's attack was a journalist from Agence France-Presse, his wife and two children who were shot in the head.

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The assault by four gunmen was a major embarrassment to government security forces less than two weeks before national elections and came on the heels of a rise in bombings and shootings targeting foreigners in the capital.

5. AT FIRST NEWS CONFERENCE, NEW FED CHIEF'S CANDOR CAUSES STOCKS TO FALL

Speaking Wednesday of when the Fed might raise short-term interest rates from their record lows, Janet Yellen was surprisingly specific—"around six months"—and the remark appeared to muddy her overarching message that rates are bound by no single economic indicator or time frame.

This file photo shows Fred Phelps Sr. displays one of his many infamous protest signs. Phelps, the fiery founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, a small Kansas church, who drew international condemnation for outrageous and hate-filled protests that blamed almost everything, including the deaths of AIDS victims and U.S. soldiers, on America's tolerance for gay people, has died the family said Thursday, March 20, 2014. He was 84. ((AP Photo/The Topeka Capital Journal))

6. CHECHEN WARLOARD DOKU UMAROV REPORTED DEAD

The 49-year-old Islamic militant had claimed responsibility for some of Russia's deadliest terrorist attacks and had threatened to strike the Sochi Olympics. Umarov's death has been claimed before, but Tuesday's was the first report from the organization he headed, Kavkaz Center.

7. 'CHICKEN FROM HELL' DINOSAUR GETS A MORE SCIENTIFIC NAME

The bird-like creature that was 7 feet tall and weighed about 500 pounds was given a new name Wednesday: Anzu wyliei, which comes from a mythological feathered demon, plus the name of the grandson of a trustee of the Carnegie Museum of Natural history, where a replica of its skeleton has been displayed for nearly a decade.

The fiery founder of a small Kansas church led outrageous and hate-filled protests that blamed almost everything, including the deaths of AIDS victims and U.S. soldiers, on America's tolerance for gay people. Phelps, who died Wednesday, and his Westboro Baptist Church tested the boundaries of free speech, violating accepted societal standards for decency in an unapologetic assault on gays and lesbians.

9. MICK JAGGER REMEMBERS HIS LATE COMPANION, DESIGNER L'WREN SCOTT

In a poignant tribute, Jagger called Scott his "lover and best friend" and said he was struggling to understand why she might have taken her own life.

The Rolling Stones canceled their tour of Australia and New Zealand after she was found dead Monday in her New York apartment.

10. EARLY EXIT: DUKE BOUNCED OUT OF NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Even though coach Mike Krzyzewski has won more NCAA tournament games than anyone in the history of men's basketball, his Blue Devils were knocked out by 14th-seeded Mercer. Other big early upsets included 11th-seeded Dayton beating sixth-seeded Ohio State, No. 12 Harvard knocking off fifth-seeded Cincinnati and No. 12 seed North Dakota outlasted fifth-seeded Oklahoma.

This undated photo provided by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History on March 18, 2014 shows a reconstruction of the skeleton of the dinosaur Anzu wyliei. The birdlike animal, about 7 feet tall, weighed an estimated 500 pounds when it roamed western North America around 66-68 million years ago. Nicknamed the "chicken from hell," the creature was formally introduced with an official name to the scientific community Wednesday, March 19, 2104 as scientists published a description and analysis of its anatomy. ((AP Photo/Carnegie Museum of Natural History))